


i'm the happiest when you smile at me

by kamunamis



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Band Fic, Beaches, Day At The Beach, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Musicians, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28088421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamunamis/pseuds/kamunamis
Summary: After all, despite Tooru’s mildly annoying attitude, he’s never been wrong - whether it’s about food, the band, or really any stressful situation.(a day at the beach lands in a confession)
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18
Collections: Oikawa Exchange Winter 2020





	i'm the happiest when you smile at me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [irisowari](https://archiveofourown.org/users/irisowari/gifts).



> hi addy loser (/j), i wrote this fic for you <3333 i love u !!!!!

California is ultimately one of the worst places to be in when the scorching summer heat strikes. Stuck in a run-down apartment with his bandmates and no air-conditioning, Hajime spins around in his creaky old office chair, exhaling a deep breath. The slight hum of the fan and the metronome ticking isn’t helping in the slightest.

Hajime, Tooru, Issei, and Takahiro are  _ supposed  _ to be writing a song for their new EP. Unfortunately, it’s not going very well.

“Okay, that’s it!” Tooru shouts, standing up from his seat and slamming the desk. “We’re not going to get anything done in this stuffy room.”

“No shit, Captain Obvious,” Takahiro fires back.

Tooru laughs. “This is California, I’m sure we’ll find someplace with inspiration.” He turns to look at Hajime, who suddenly has the gut feeling that Tooru is about to suggest something outrageous or plain stupid. “We should go on an adventure!”

Hajime pinches the bridge of his nose. “The last time we went on adventure, Issei got bit by a tarantula.” He points to Issei, who is playing patty cake with Takahiro and not paying attention to the conversation at hand.

“It was his fault for going into the bushes.” Tooru pouts.

“Whatever the reason,” Hajime continues, “I don’t think we have room for an adventure right now. We have deadlines!”

Tooru places a hand on Hajime’s shoulder, ignoring the blush that crept up on Hajime’s face. “Loosen up a little, babe! I think you’re a little too high-strung right now.” His traitorous heart skips a beat when he hears Tooru call him ‘babe.’ “I think you’re a little uptight right now. There’s no harm in having fun.” He sighs. “Besides, the apartment is a goddamn hotbox here, I can barely think.” He pokes Hajime’s cheeks. “We’ll be back by tomorrow morning, maybe later tonight!”

Hajime realizes then and there that Tooru’s right - no one is going to get anything done in these unenjoyable conditions. “Fine. I suppose we can take a day or two to find some inspiration.”

Tooru beams and starts jumping up and down. Hajime doesn’t understand how someone can have so much energy in the blistering heat. “Great! Iwa-chan, go get the van ready. Makki, go get some snacks. Mattsun and I can go pack.” He skips away to the closet where they shoved most of their suitcases.

Hajime rolls his eyes and grabs the keys from the hook on the wall. He exits the apartment and heads down to the parking lot where the hand-me-down van from his mother is located. When he starts the engine, he waits for a short while until his friends come down with a plethora of snacks and a giant duffel bag.

“That was quick,” Hajime says.

Tooru shrugs. “We just shoved our clothes in the bag.”

Of course that would happen. Why would Hajime expect anything different? He doesn’t bother putting up a fight, they’re just clothes anyway. “Just load it in the trunk.”

Tooru sits in the driver seat with Hajime on the passenger’s side while Issei and Takahiro sit in the second row. He cranks up the radio to the highest setting, blasting bubblegum pop until Hajime feels like his brain is going to burst.

“Iwa-chan!” Tooru whines when he turns the radio down.

“Be grateful that I didn’t turn it off completely.”

Tooru pipes down after that.

“Where are we going anyway?” Hajime asks, unfolding the map in the glove compartment. The sun shines bright in his eyes, forcing him to squint. He reaches up and fumbles around with the sunshade until it’s down and he can finally see again. There’s nothing marked on it, meaning there’s no clue as to where they’re headed. “Do you even know your way around here?”

“Well, no,” Tooru says, and Hajime rolls his eyes. “But that’s why it’s an adventure!”

Hajime gives him the benefit of the doubt.

“You should get some rest,” Tooru suggests. “We’ll be on the road for a while.”

This sets off tons of red flags. “Where are we going?!”

Tooru shushes him. “Iwa-chan, you’re so stressed out lately, everything will turn out fine. It always does.”

Hajime supposes that Tooru isn’t wrong about that one. No matter what kind of sticky situations the two get into, they’ve always made it out okay.

The drive is uneventful for the most part. Takahiro and Issei end up falling asleep on each other’s shoulders, which isn’t that unusual whenever they’re in the car. Tooru whistles along to the radio while Hajime blankly stares out the window. He tried falling asleep earlier, but Tooru’s swerves and his whistling had unfortunately kept him awake.

(For some reason, Tooru received his driver’s license. He’s not the worst driver in the world, but he’s certainly not the safest either. It’s a miracle that he hasn’t gotten into an accident yet.)

“Iwa-chan, do you remember when we first met?” Tooru asks.

Hajime sits up and looks at him strangely. “Yeah? Of course I do, how could I forget? You were screeching your lungs out in the locker room shower.”

“You yelled at me and said I was never going to be a singer if I destroyed my vocal cords that way,” Tooru laughs. 

“And yet you still screech your lungs out in the shower.” Hajime laughs. “Wait, why are you asking?”

Tooru shrugs. “Nostalgia.” He pulls into a parking lot not too long afterward.

Hajime looks at him once he realizes their surroundings. “We’re in San Diego? At a beach?”

“Yeah!” Tooru says excitedly. “You mentioned that you used to go to the beach whenever you wanted to clear your head before we got busy with the band. Plus, I figured we could use a change of scenery.” He frowns when he sees Hajime’s face. “Oh, don’t give me that look. We brought sunscreen, promise.” He opens the duffle bag to prove that he had, in fact, brought sunscreen. Hajime grabs the sunscreen from Tooru and squirts it into his hand before slathering it over his body.

Tooru whistles and Hajime rolls his eyes. It’s endearing that Tooru had remembered his love for the beach but the moment was ultimately ruined. “You’re incorrigible.”

“Hey!” Tooru scoffs. “What’s wrong with ogling over my best friend?”

Hajime doesn’t dignify a response. “Go wake up Makki and Mattsun.”

“Okay!”

Hajime hands Takahiro the sunscreen when he gets out of the car moments later. “Make sure you get your face too!” he reminds him. Takahiro doesn’t answer him.

Once everyone is ready, the four find a spot to lay down their beach towels before running down toward the shore. Issei tries to climb on top of Takahiro’s shoulders and Tooru crashes into them, causing all of them to tumble down.

Hajime catches up to them and extends a hand out to Tooru. “You okay?”

Tooru stands up. There’s a cut on his knee. Hajime assumes that a rock or a shell must’ve scratched him when he fell. “I think I’m fine.”

“Dumbass, that’s going to get infected.”

“Oh come on, what’s one measly cut going to do to me?”

Hajime supposes that he’s right, the cut’s not deep enough that it needs serious medical attention anyway. “At least put a bandage on it first.”

Tooru runs back to the van and gets one of the spare bandages in the glove compartment before joining the rest of his bandmates again. Takahiro splashes water in Tooru’s face, starting a goose chase around the shore.

Later on, they end up playing a round of beach volleyball. While they’ve never played it before, it’s enjoyable for everyone, except for the part where Issei ends up getting a handful of sand in his mouth, no thanks to Takahiro.

Nonetheless, they enjoy their afternoon at the beach. It certainly reminded Hajime of when he used to live near the seaside. While this beach was sunny, bright, and warm compared to the beach in his old town, it was still a beach. 

“We should get dinner now,” Tooru suggests, later that day. “Before all of the good restaurants close for the night.”

“You don’t even know where all of the good restaurants are.”

“Hey! I know how to use Yelp. We’ll find something good to eat. And we can always get fast food if we don’t end up finding something.”

Hajime decides to trust Tooru’s judgment. After all, despite Tooru’s mildly annoying attitude, he’s never been wrong - whether it’s about food, the band, or really any stressful situation.

Once again, they pile into the slightly cramped minivan. Tooru inputs the address to a local Chinese restaurant as they’re headed there.

Issei points to the sign that says ‘Please Seat Yourself’ before they look for a table. Hajime and Takahiro play rock, paper, scissors over whether or not to sit at a booth or a table - in which Takahiro ends up winning, so they find a booth to sit at.

Tooru and Issei sit next to each other, across from Takahiro and Hajime.

“I think we should share,” Tooru suggests, clearing his throat. “Try a little bit of everything, y’know?”

Issei snickers. “Sounds good. You don’t finish half of your food anyway.”

Tooru huffs. “Just for that, I’m not sharing with you.”

Everyone laughs. Tooru’s empty threats are a bit of a running joke between the four of them. Hajime knows that the moment the food arrives, Tooru is going to inch close to Issei and spoon-feed him.

Hajime ignores the  _ pang  _ in his chest at that thought. Tooru is just close and affectionate toward his best friends. None of it ever means anything. But Hajime is easily jealous - it’s one of the few traits he wishes he didn’t have.

“Hey, if you’re not going to share with Issei, at least you can share with me!” Takahiro says. He bats his eyelashes for maximum effect. Tooru reaches his hand across the table and puts it on top of Takahiro’s.

“Of course I will, my darling Makki.” Tooru winks.

They don’t let go of each other’s hands, not until the waitress arrives with their food and Hajime has to clear his throat to get their attention. The band scarves down their dinner like they’re a bunch of pigs in a playpen. It turns out they’re hungrier than they thought they were.

By the time they’re done with dinner, the sun has already started to go down and the atmosphere isn’t as scalding. There’s a slight breeze since they’re close to the shore and it feels cleansing. It’s exactly what Hajime needed today.

No one wants the day to end just yet, so they park the minivan somewhere and walk along the shore. The water swishes and splashes across their feet, but that doesn’t bother them in the slightest. Times like this remind Hajime why he started the band in the first place - to have fun with his friends through making music.

Takahiro is perched on Issei’s back, playfully ribbing him. He leans in to kiss the corner of Issei’s lips, a small blush peeking on both of their cheeks. Hajime feels a little jealous of how happy and comfortable they are with each other, but they deserve a happy relationship, especially after years of pining over each other.

There’s a pang in his chest as he looks at Tooru, who’s smiling brightly. He ignores it, though it certainly doesn’t help that Hajime’s feelings won’t be returned, not by a long shot.

(A nagging voice in the back of his head tells him to just tell Tooru how he feels, to get it off of his chest so that he doesn’t have to worry about it anymore.)

“Tooru,” Hajime calls out.

“Yeah, Iwa-chan?”

He stops for a moment. “Thanks. For this. I think I might be able to come up with something for our next song. Your ideas aren’t so bad after all.”

Tooru’s smile only gets brighter. He squeezes Hajime into a tight hug. “Iwa-chan! You like my ideas!”

“Don’t make me regret it,” Hajime says. There’s no malice behind his words; his tone is fond and affectionate.

Tooru lets go of Hajime, yawning. He stretches his arms out.

“You’re tired, aren’t you?” Hajime asks.

Tooru shakes his head. “No, I think I’ll be fine… We still need to drive back.”

He yawns again.

Hajime shakes his head. “You’re not driving like this. Take the passenger seat, I’ll drive this time.” A smile curls on Tooru’s lips. Hajime doesn’t think he could ever grow tired of seeing that smile.

They leave the beach not too long afterward. Hajime takes the driver’s seat this time around, as promised. The drive is quiet, the low hum of the engine the only noise surrounding them. They’re worn out but not asleep yet.

“Iwa-chan,” Tooru says softly, barely even a whisper.

Hajime quirks a brow. “Yeah?”

“I… I had fun with you today,” Tooru mumbles.

“I had fun with you too.”

“I think I’m in love with you.”

Hajime slams on the brakes. The sudden jerk of the vehicle startles Tooru, and Takahiro and Issei complain loudly. Hajime isn’t sure what to think. After believing that his feelings wouldn’t be returned, he’s not even sure he feels real. He’s not even sure if Tooru is real. “Do you mean that?” he asks. He continues driving, because stopping in the middle of the road would be incredibly stupid.

There’s a glimmer in Tooru’s eyes as the moonlight shines down on him. “Yeah… Of course I mean it. I love you, Iwa-chan.” He exhales a shaky breath. “Wow. I can’t believe I said that.”

“I love you too,” Hajime says.

Takahiro and Issei make gagging noises. Hajime glares at them.

“Really, guys?!” Tooru says, shrieking. “I can’t believe you!”

They start giggling until Tooru throws his sandal at them. Hajime places his hand on top of Tooru’s, intertwining their fingers, and they don’t let go until after they’ve reached their dingy little apartment.

Later that night, Hajime scribbles all of his thoughts for the new song down on one of their notepads before curling up next to Tooru.

Neither Takahiro nor Issei mention it when Tooru gets more clingy toward Hajime after that day. They can’t, not when Tooru and Hajime’s new relationship means they’re getting better songs.

Tooru can’t wait to visit the beach again.

**Author's Note:**

> beta read by [tara](https://twitter.com/itsmyusualweeb)


End file.
